COMING EVENTS

April 3^rd                                     **Round the Sheds                Ken Innes-Irons        

April 10^th –11^th                               Mallala                             Joan Shearer (08)8390-1609

May 29^th-30^th                              *Winton                             A7 CC

June 19^th-20^th                               Eastern Creek                    HSRCA

June 20^th                                      Tour De Yarra Valley           Ron Simmons 0427-031-737

July  24^th –25^th                              Queensland Raceway          QSCC

August 1^st                                   *Morwell Hillclimb                 VHRR

September 25^th –26^th                      Eastern Creek                    HSRCA

October 2^nd-3^rd                             Vintage Collingrove Hillclimb  SCC of SA (08) 8373-4899
                                                                                         or sccsa@iprimus.com.au

October 16^th –17^th                         Midweek Wakefield Park        HSRCA??

November 5^th –7^th
Date to be Confirmed)                   *Sandown                           VHRR

November 27^th –28^th                       Wakefield Park                    HSRCA         

   *CCE…..denotes Club Championship Event                   ** See Text

VHRR Clubrooms are situated at 30-32 Lexton Rd. Box Hill

     LUNCH MEETINGS WEDNESDAYS (NOT CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS)

     CLUB LIBRARY OPENING TIMES:

     Wednesday Lunch Days 11.30-2.30

     Club Meeting Nights 6.30-7.30

     RED PLATES SCHEME    Our club Volunteer doing this task  

     is Lloyd Shaw. Contact him on ………0415.351.164

ALL THE ABOVE CLUB ACTIVITIES INCLUDING THE WEDNESDAY LUNCH ARE DESIGNATED RED PLATE ACTIVITIES.

Visit our website: www.vhrr.com

Round the Sheds  Saturday April 3^rd  HURRY 5 SPOTS LEFT

Ken Innes Irons has offered to organise another garage tour. After the previous successful and most enjoyable previous tours, Ken has two wonderful venues organised. Firstly a visit to Earl Davey Milne’s to see the Monza Alfa and the Bugatti Corvette. From Earl’s we head for Nereo Dizane’s to inspect his Brabham fleet and more, even a motor cycle or two.

This event is limited to 20 only at $10 a head.

Bookings  between 6.30PM and 9.30 PM only on 9819-7830.

Cheques to 2/17 Corhampton Rd Balwyn North 3104   

THE NEXT ITEM IS REPEATED (AGAIN) AS WE NEED VOLUNTEERS TO MAKE THIS EVENT HAPPEN IN 2004********

A Big Thankyou and Help Needed.

Helen McDonald and Dorothy Tate have for many years organised our very successful and convivial Christmas Breakup and Prizegiving night.

After our last function, Jack Brabham was installed as our patron. On this highnote the ladies have decided to retire. The whole club owes them a big vote of thanks.  Thankyou both.

The club therefore needs two or more ladies to organise our 2004 function.

Helen and Dorothy have kindly offered every assistance to their replacements  and promise not to drop them in at the deep end.

Contact Dorothy on  9802-4739   or Helen on  8589-1217

Thankyou again.

IF NO ONE STEPS FORWARD THIS EVENT WILL NOT HAPPEN.

Club Championship $10.00…………….First Event Phillip Island

To enter the Club Championship give Ian Tate (9877-2317) $10.00 and your name to be part of the action. Once again to be in it you must enter.

TOUR D' YARRA VALLEY – Sunday 20th June

The Tour will commence at Yarra Glen's Mckenzie Reserve in the main street. First car will depart at approx. 9.30am for a 2 to 2 ½ hour tour of the beautiful Yarra Valley, with simple navigation and a few questions on the way. This will be followed by a BYO picnic lunch at a winery near Yarra Glen. Great fun to be had by all, bring your "special car" or just the family hack. Registration is essential as numbers are limited. Donation $20 per car. The event will held regardless of the weather. For further details contact Ron Simmonds on 0427 031 737.

Memorabilia

The Committee at its last meeting discussed the question of memorabilia.

Should we collect and display this at our clubrooms? Will you as members donate? What should we collect and display? We would need a volunteer to organize and supervise. Any member with an interest in this please contact Patrick Ryan 9335-4666 BH or ryansbus@ozonline.com.au

HELP- LOST RACING CAR

Laurie Glass wishes to locate his 192-63 Holden Special. Built by himself and Bruce Towns as an open wheeler with a frame welded from 1.25 inch square tube. The engine carried 3 1.5 inch SU carbies coupled to a Holden 3 speed box with an offset tail shaft. The EH rear end was located by 4 rose jointed trailing arms and a panhard rod. Front suspension comprised of rose jointed wishbones with triumph Herald uprights. Power brakes were discs front and FE drums rear with 13 inch steel wheels. The car ran at Sandown, Calder and Geelong and was sold to Lou Molina in 1965-66 and being driven by both Ernest and Antony Molina as the MM Special.

Laurie can be contacted on 9561-1571 0407-049-278 or laurieglass@tpg.com.au

Phillip Island   2004                                                 Story:  Peter Hill

There simply are not enough superlatives to describe the breathtaking collection of cars from the USA the UK, and of course, Australia gathered at Phillip Island for the Shannons-Tattersall’s historic meeting.
 

Tom Price shipped his stunning 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO from the USA to meet up with one of its UK siblings, Bryn Williams’ 1964 re-bodied 250 GTO.  Williams added further class to the fields with his Ferrari 206/204S Dino, without doubt a contender for the most beautiful car award, (which it might have shared with Bob Harborow’s pretty Tojeiro Climax), plus the Lotus 11 that he has owned since 1974, which is the car he chooses to race.

The USA provided the “big guns” of the meeting: Dean Butler’s 1951 Jim Robbins Special Indianapolis car with its 4.5 litre Offy engine and the sensational Miller 4WD which the Australian crowds have enjoyed at a number of meetings over the last 12 months.  Peter Giddings came straight from competing in New Zealand Southern Festival of Speed to race his Lago Talbot on Saturday before suffering gearbox and water pump problems that sidelined him on Sunday.  Bert Skidmore headed up a three Le Mans car entry with his open ’76 Lola T286, a car that was raced 5 times at Le Mans between ’76-’81, he was joined by Duncan Dayton’s ’68 Lola T70 which had antipodean connections having been raced by Denny Hulme and Frank Gardner for Sid Taylor.  Dayton enjoyed an exciting weekend of racing as he diced door to door with Bob Sherrard’s T70 driven by Wayne Park.  These two had the crowd on their toes as they engaged in heart stopping scraps which included spins and a door flying up and open at a most inconvenient time.

If that list didn’t get your mouth watering, then how about the four, (yes four), ERAs?  Dean Butler, “Mac” Hulbert, Martin Morris and Bill Morris brought these treasures from their English homes.  Their histories provided a “Who’s Who” of 1930s continental racing with names like Raymond Mays, Prince Bira, Ron Flockart, Reg Parnell and Fotheringham-Parker, (how English is that?)..Sadly Hulbert’s car was a casualty with serious transmission problems, so only a lucky few saw all four on the track together.  Martin Walford drove Dean Butler’s car joining Duncan Ricketts in Bill Morris’ R12C at the front of the J&K racing class.  The speed of these classics surprised many people as they dominated the field to take the first two places well ahead of Peter Giddings’ Lago and local “Stumpy” Russell in his monstrous 1935 Ford.

The other imported single seaters were more modern: Robin Longdon’s pretty ’63 Lola Mark 5 FJ; the Lillingston-Price Tecno T70 F2 and Paul Busby’s ex-Siffert Cooper BRM T82.  I almost forgot to mention Sellyei’s D type Jag and James Wood’s 1938 2 litre Alta.  But before you start to get the impression that the fields were dominated by international entries, reflect on a total entry of 451 cars, surely making this the biggest, as well as the most spectacular historic event in the Southern Hemisphere.

Twelve months ago I enjoyed the sight of Win Percy flying past my little Lotus in the D type in the rain.  Sadly since then Win suffered an accident at his English home and is now paralysed from the waist down.  If you are a fan of Percy’s you can purchase a DVD or video of his racing from Tony Johns, (johnst@netlink.com.au), the income going towards the special needs that he now has.

The ERAs and the Le Mans cars provided some of the best racing of the weekend.  While the Lola T70s were scrapping over fifth and sixth place in the Racing and Sports Car race Bert Skidmore made a habit of starting conservatively and then demolishing the field to take the chequered flag. 

The Ferrari GTOs ran in the front third of the big Sports Car class but were upstaged by Dick Willis in the classic Mildren Cooper T51, the two Lotus 11 Le Mans of Lawson and Williams then the other Cooper Climax T51.  Geoff McInnes had great fun in the Riley special dicing with a GTO and the Penrite Lola Mk1.  John Caffin of the VHRR received unexpected reward for all the work that he puts into the club and this event when he was invited to drive a Ferari GTO and an ERA.  He is still grinning!

We did miss the big single seaters as Bob Harborow once again damaged the SUNOCO liveried F5000 Lola and neither of the two F1 cars appeared.  Nereo Dizane’s Brabham BT42 was thwarted by the bureaucracy, which was a shame as it would have been one of the ‘modern’ stars of the weekend. 

So only one week prior to the first Grand Prix of the year, a record crowd enjoyed good weather, stunning cars and exciting racing.  Despite Rusty French stuffing his Porsche into the tyres there were no serious injuries for the weekend and very few bent panels.  The overseas visitors had a great time and threatened an even bigger invasion for the 2005 event. 

The work that goes into organizing an event of this magnitude cannot be imagined by those who have not been involved.  David Fogg has been one of the long time organizing committee members.  This year was his last.  Not a bad one to retire on Foggy!  Thanks to all those who provided us with such a memorable weekend.

CONDOLENCES

The Victorian Historic Racing Register members and committee offers its condolences to member Frank Esposito on the sad loss of his wife Janice.

BOOK REVIEWS                                                                     Roger James

Lex Davison-Larger Than Life by Graham Howard.                          

Lex Davison, racing driver, businessman, husband, father and raconteur was a larger than life character who had taken on legendary status prior to his tragic death at the wheel of his Brabham racing car at Sandown Park in February 1965, whilst contesting the International Tasman series. Lex still remains the only driver to have won four Australian Grand Prix as well as three Australian Hillclimb championships. He was also the original winner of the Australian Gold Star and competed in Around Austarlia rallies and had an absolute ball at the wheel of the infamous Ford Galaxie. He competed overseas in sports and touring car events in England, the Le Mans 24 Hour race with Aston martin and took the first holden overseas to compete in the 1953 Monte Carlo Rally. He drove the Bluebird and provided great support to Donald Campbell during the land speed record attempt at Lake Eyre.
 

Away from the track Lex held extensive interests in business, farming and property and had a passionate eye for Australian Art. The much anticipated  biography of the life of Lex Davidson was lauched at Albert Park among his family, friends and many colleagues and contributors to the book and executives of the Australian Grand Prix Corporation and marked the 50^th Anniversary of Lex’s first AGP victory. Written by well known motoring historian Graham Howard, the 280 page book recounts many aspects of Lex’s diverse life, and contains over 250 original  photographs depicting his racing career, private and family life.                           $99 from Tony Johns Bookshop Surrey Hills.  

The Jack Brabham Story with Doug Nye

At first glance this book gives the impression of great style and classs because of the photographs it exhibits including the front cover are crystal clearand full of technical detail. In this case you can judge a book by its cover!

Jack told his story to Doug Nye who is now world famous as the author of more than 70 books on motor racing history. So, it is Jack’s autobiography and Doug presents it in a fascinating matter. There is much more than race by race descriptions , mechanical developments and details and the recreation of the competition environment of this important era. Readers will get to know the man, his feelings for his family and staff, his attitude to rivals on and of the track, his feelings, his regrets, and above all else his reluctant response to fame.

It’s a big book, almost too big to read in bed and it will stand out in your book shelves. But, if you desire to know the history of a great Australian and relive the motor racing events of the 1940’s to 70’s period, this is the book to purchase.

$66 from Tony Johns Motor books in Surrey Hills.

COMMIT  NOW TO BE IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA FOR TWO MAJOR VINTAGE EVENTS

–             26^th SEPTEMBER  -  BAY TO BIRDWOOD

–             2^nd & 3^rd OCT – VINTAGE COLLINGROVE       

Combine these two events plus additional “Motorfest” activities in the week days between.    The Bay to Birdwood run is for motor cars, commercial vehicles and motor cycles built before 1950 and attracts around 1500 entrants & huge spectator crowds.

“Vintage Collingrove Speed Hill Climb Weekend” is being held for the second year for pre 1941 sporting and racing cars.    Collingrove is considered Australia’s premier Hill Climb track and is in superb scenic countryside on the edge of the famous Barossa Valley.    Vintage Collingrove attracts entries of original style Vintage Machinery as well as Group J & K cars.    If you haven’t been to Prescott you should come to Vintage Collingrove (you should probably come anyway).    Additional support events for competitors.

Sporting Car Club of SA Inc 51 King William St., Unley, SA 5061

Tel: 08 – 8373 4899, Fax 08 – 8373 4703, email sccsa@iprimus.com.au

www.sportingcarclubsa.org.au

VHRR SMALL ADS

1.      WANTED: Racing Car trailer to suit a Formula Junior car.Will consider open or closed trailer. Contact David Reid 0418-352-182

2.      SALE-Dunlop Racing Tyres    2 x 5.00L 15” and  2 X 5.50L X 15” Used , good tread, new cost $475 each only $300.00 the lot.                                                            Antony Osborne Richmond           0409-178-555 BH or 9820-8848 AH  

3. MG Midget ’ 77 LHD 1500 Datsun Engine, MG Gearbox (in need of TLC) Body Good, Clean & Tidy, Hoosier TDs & Radials. Good Club Car, New Upholstery,Laminated screen and Tonneau, $6250 Negotiable. Russ 0408-333-651

Disclaimer; The views and opinions expressed within this newsletter are not necessarily those of the VHRR Inc. or its Committee and/or its newsletter Editor.  Whilst all care has been taken, neither the club or its officiers accept responsibility for the accuracy of information printed and the quality of any items or services advertised or mentioned in this publication.  Incorporated association Number A 0007117C. The Editor reserves the right to edit contributions submitted for publication.

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